Route planning applications can typically aid users in locating points of interest, such as particular buildings, addresses, and the like. Moreover, users can vary a zoom level, thereby enabling variation of context and detail as a zoom level of a map is altered. For example, as a user zooms in on a particular location, details such as names of local roads, identification and location of police and fire stations, identification and location of public services, such as libraries, museums, and the like can be presented to the user. When zooming out, the user can glean information from the map such as location of the point of interest within a city, state, and/or country, proximity of the point of interest to major freeways, proximity of the point of interest to a specific city, and the like. In some applications, satellite images can be utilized to provide users with additional detail regarding a particular geographic location or region. For example, a prospective purchaser of a house can obtain an overhead satellite image of the house, thereby enabling the prospective purchaser to view lines of occupation, proximity of the house to other adjacent houses, and other information that may be pertinent to the user.
Furthermore, conventional computer implemented mapping applications often include route planning applications that can be employed to provide users with directions between different locations. For example, a user can specify a start point of travel and an end point of travel (e.g., beginning and ending addresses). As such, the route planning application can subsequently designate representations of roads and intersections and one or more algorithms to output a suggested route of travel. Such algorithms can output routes depending upon user-selected parameters. For instance, a commercial route planning application can include a check box to specify that the user wishes to avoid highways. Similarly, a user can inform the route planning application for traveling on a shortest route or a route that takes a least amount of time (as determined by underlying algorithms). Today, many individuals increasingly rely on route planning applications to aid them in during various activities such as leisure, sports, business, and the like.
Moreover, the Internet continues to make available ever-increasing amounts of information that can be stored in databases and accessed therefrom. Additionally, with the proliferation of portable terminals (e.g., notebook computers, cellular telephones, PDAs, smartphones and other similar communications devices), users are becoming more mobile, and hence, traceable with respect to routes taken and locations that they tend to frequent. For example, many devices are being designed with a geographic location tracking technology such as GPS for reasons of safety, finding travel destinations, and the like.